Jets' Antonio Cromartie open to being used at receiver

William Perlman/The Star-LedgerAntonio Cromartie said the Jets may try to give him "a couple plays here or there" on offense.

CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Antonio Cromartie teams with Darrelle Revis for arguably the best cornerback tandem in the NFL, but Cromartie would be open to trying a few plays at receiver.

"Rex has talked to me, and Coach Tony (Sparano) has, too," Cromartie said today. "We talked about it, and we’re going to see where it’s going to go from there."

Yesterday, coach Rex Ryan shared the Jets' plans to teach Cromartie the receiver position. Cromartie was used for a handful of plays on offense last year, including reverses and Hail Mary passes. With his responsibilities at cornerback, it's hard to imagine him carrying a hefty load on offense, but his size and speed could be a bonus if used in certain situations.

"Just try to give me a couple plays here and there, try to learn the plays before we go into the season and then just go from there," Cromartie said. "And see how it goes."

Cromartie said he practiced some receiver in college at Florida State. He has not spent time in any offensive meetings so far.

Sparano referenced to his experience with the Redskins in 2001, when Marty Schottenheimer was the head coach and they used cornerback Champ Bailey on offense.

"If you had a player like Cromartie, and he can do other things, then you would use him. You should use all your weapons," Sparano said. "I think that those type of things happen, and you're just going to use the parts you have. If Cromartie is one of those parts, and he can do some of that stuff, then so be it."